Dr. Meenakshi Jain

Dr. Meenakshi Jain is a distinguished Indian historian, political scientist, author, and public intellectual, widely recognized for her rigorous scholarship on Indian history and culture. A former Associate Professor of History at Gargi College, University of Delhi, her research focuses on cultural and religious developments in medieval and early‑modern India. She has authored several influential works, including Rama and Ayodhya, The Battle for Rama, Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples, and Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse, and has contributed to school history curricula.

Dr. Jain has served on key national academic bodies, including the Indian Council of Historical Research, and is currently a Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. In recognition of her contribution to literature and education, she was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020. In July 2025, she was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India, marking the entry of a leading academic voice into the Indian Parliament.